ALL YOU NEED IS A RED SHIRT AND CAP, AND YOU ARE SOKOL!

Science of Gymnastics Journal 61 Science of Gymnastics Journal

ALL YOU NEED IS A RED SHIRT AND CAP, AND YOU ARE SOKOL!

Jože Podpečnik

National Museum of Slovenia, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Original article Abstract

The public appearances of Sokol companies in uniform at first awakened and later strengthened Slovenian national consciousness and united the Slovenians in Carniola and later across all Slovenian ethnic territory. The provincial government in Ljubljana and its German majority were largely opposed to the Slovenian gymnastics clubs. They blamed the Sokol clubs for encouraging ethnic intolerance with their excursions in uniform. In principle, practicing gymnastics was the first objective of the Slovenian gymnasts, followed in second place by various forms of social ‘entertainment,’ where they could demonstrate dignity, good manners, and moderation. Unform consisted of »surka« (jacket), red shirt, black shoes and »čikoš« (hat).

The Southern Sokol Club chose for its headwear a low, round, wide-brimmed hat, to which a tricolor ‘national’ cockade and a Sokol feather were attached. The Sokol uniform with its red shirt became the symbol of a self-confident and nationally conscious Slovenian, a fighter for national emancipation, and a supporter of Slavic solidarity.

Keywords: Sokol, Uniforms, Dress, Cap, National Colours.

INTRODUCTION

Along with the awakening of Slovenian national consciousness in the mid-nineteenth century, dressing styles became a category of national affiliation beyond the previously firmly established classbased differences in dress in Slovenia.

Janez Trdina reports that in 1848 nationally conscious students and some Ljubljana residents started to wear a surka¹ in imitation of the Croatian Illyrians, demonstrating their Slovenian national affiliation and South Slavic solidarity, and the bolder ones added a red cap. In the reading societies period after 1861, these jackets were often adopted by the nationally

conscious Slovenian bourgeoisie.² Although they became an element of the Sokol uniform worn by the members of the Southern Sokol Club, founded in October 1863, the role of the symbols of the Sokol gymnastics movement went to the red shirt.

The uniformed Southern Sokols immediately assumed the leadership of the Slovenian national movement, and by appearing in public in uniform its members appealed to national consciousness. The Sokol uniform with its red shirt became the symbol of a self-confident and nationally conscious Slovenian, a fighter for national emancipation, and a supporter of Slavic solidarity. The popularity of the Sokol red

Science of Gymnastics Journal 62 Science of Gymnastics Journal shirt was concurrent with the role of the

Sokol clubs in the Slovenian national movement and of course changed in the course of the movement’s development.

To date, research on the Slovenian national and Sokol movements has not dedicated any major attention to the development of the Sokol uniform, and even less to its symbolism or the reactions of sympathizers or opponents. The first to attempt a more detailed description of the development of the Sokol uniform was Drago Stepišnik,³ who compiled a basic survey of its development. A short but correct description of the development of the Sokol uniform in Slovenia up to the Second World War was written and illustrated by Sergej Vrišer.⁴ In the archive sources, the clothes of the members of the Sokol clubs are mostly called kroji (uniforms), and the same was true of Slovenian newspapers of the time. Here and there, the names of the individual parts of a Sokol uniform were mentioned, when they were the subject of discussions in the clubs or among the public. The archive of the Ljubljana Sokol Club also reflects the attitudes of its leadership and members to the Sokol uniform, and the discussions were quite heated in the early period.

This article addresses only the development of the men’s Sokol uniform in Slovenia before the First World War; the development of women’s and youths’ Sokol uniforms was specific and deserves special attention due to special historical and social conditions. I intentionally use the seemingly questionable term ‘Slovenian’ Sokol costume, especially considering the assumption that the Slovenian Sokols imitated the uniform of the Czech Sokols.

For the first thirty years, the Slovenian Sokol uniform had some specific Slovenian characteristics, in particular the headwear.

In spite of the uniformity of the Sokol movement in principle, the uniform of the Ljubljana Sokol Club differed from that of the Prague Sokols, as did the uniforms of some Sokol filials from the uniform of their

parent club. In particular, the uniforms of the Upper Carniola Sokols and the Southern Sokols of Trieste differed from those of the Ljubljana Sokols in the color of the shirt and details of the headwear. The lack of a standard uniform in the Slovenian Sokol clubs would certainly have caused many problems in the long run and weakened their position in the struggle for the rights of the Sokol association and national rights.

The leadership of the Ljubljana Sokol Club therefore acted resolutely when the first non-standard elements appeared, whether related to the uniform, the gymnastics system, or Slovenian gymnastics terminology.

The Ljubljana Gymnastics Club tackled the issue of the club uniform as early as the preparations for its foundation.

At the preparatory meeting in early August 1862, the initiators appointed a temporary five-member board, in which the Slovenians had the majority. The board’s efforts to heal the rift between the Slovenian majority and German minority were in vain. Moreover, the disagreements caused the German minority to found their own gymnastics club, the Laibacher Turnverein, the same year. The Slovenian Gymnastics Club thus had a competitor at both the club and national levels even before it was founded. This rift, which was also reflected in the choice of the club uniform, had an important impact on the operation of the two town and national gymnastics associations. The German Gymnastics Club adopted a standard club uniform,⁵ whereas the Southern Sokols imitated the Prague Sokol Club. The archive material contains no evidence of contact between the Slovenian and Czech Sokols before the formal foundation of the

Science of Gymnastics Journal 63 Science of Gymnastics Journal Slovenian club, but a telegram with

greetings that the Slovenians sent from their founding meeting, as well as the name and uniform they chose for the club confirm the assumption that the Southern Sokol Club imitated the Prague Sokols in its initial phase of operation.

The first club rules of the Southern Sokol Club contained no provisions regarding the Sokol uniform. It is indirectly mentioned in the first section of the gymnastics system, in which Article 5 states that the gymnasts have to take off their

‘body clothes’ before training.⁶ The members of the Southern Sokol Club discussed the Sokol uniform at the founding meeting, which took place on 1 October 1863 at the Ljubljana Reading Society.

They unanimously agreed not to imitate the uniform of the German gymnasts. They adopted a decision in principle to copy the Czech Sokol uniform but without its hat.

Unlike the Czech Sokols, they would not wear boots, but shoes. The Southern Sokol Club chose for its headwear a low, round, wide-brimmed hat called a čikoš,⁷ to which a tricolor ‘national’ cockade and a Sokol feather were attached. The club’s archive contains no document indicating why the general meeting did not adopt the footwear and headwear of the Czech model and why it chose a hat that was quite similar to the German uniform. The Ljubljana Sokols were greatly encouraged when they received a surprise package containing 60 badges of the Prague Sokol Club in late 1863. The club’s president Etbin Henrik Costa ceremoniously distributed them among the members at the New Year’s party at the Ljubljana Reading Society.⁸

A group of dissatisfied Sokols again brought up the issue of the Sokol uniform in early 1864. The embarrassed club’s board wrote to the leadership of the Prague Sokol Club in late January 1864, asking for a detailed description of the Sokol uniform by

mid March. Because the board had received no answer from Prague by 13 March, it decided to have at least a temporary uniform made in our own way.⁹ Spring was close and with it the first season of outdoor events and public performances, and the members were still without uniforms.

Pressed for time, the board members again decided to adopt the Czech Sokol uniform, including the red shirt worn by the supporters of Giuseppe Garibaldi in the struggle for a united Italy. Underneath the red shirt the Sokols were to wear a white shirt or vest and over it the thenpopular grey-brown surka with five interlacing laces and hooks instead of buttons with buttonholes. The members were to wear ordinary trousers with a short strap, also made of grey-brown Russian cloth.

Regarding the headwear, to which a cockade with a monogram and a falcon’s feather were to be attached, the board again failed to reach an agreement. Of the ten board members, four voted for the čikoš, four for a modern hat, and two for a

‘Slavic’ hat.¹⁰

Two days later, an extraordinary general meeting was held in the club’s gymnasium with a single item on the agenda: the Sokol uniform. Following a motion by President Costa, the board’s proposals were adopted by a slight majority.

With the exception of the headwear, the Czech Sokol uniform was adopted. Instead of the proposed hat, the majority voted for a semi-round, gray čikoš. The writer of the minutes of the general meeting disagreed with the majority opinion and denounced the decision adopted. He considered the proposed hat to be childish, ‘unnational’

and impracticable, and, in short, unworthy of a Slovenian gymnast. In his opinion, the headwear should be strictly modeled after the Prague Sokol Club just like the uniform.

He rightly feared that the decision adopted would soon lead to different Sokol uniforms from club to club. As an example of uniformity, he pointed out that the German

Science of Gymnastics Journal 64 Science of Gymnastics Journal gymnastics clubs wore the same uniforms

and that gymnasts from Frankfurt or Berlin were dressed identically. The outvoted minority vehemently raised doubts about the regularity of the decisions adopted and continued to press for the complete Czech uniform, refusing to wear the type of hat adopted. The minority rightly feared that the disputed decision would cause a lack of uniformity in the Sokol organization. The meeting also discussed the threat of the provincial government to prohibit the Sokols from wearing red shirts in public.

Costa gathered and submitted evidence that the Prague Sokol Club was permitted to wear such shirts, and managed to convince the Carniolan provincial deputy not to implement the threatened ban.¹¹

At the meeting of the expanded board on 10 April 1864, the rules on outdoor events were adopted and subsequently distributed to the members in printed form.

The preamble of the rules defined the purposes of outdoor events and continued with the provision that only members wearing the Sokol symbol and full uniform were allowed to take part in them. The leader of an outdoor event was to wear a shirt decorated with embroidery and stripes on the sleeves of his surka, indicating his position or function. Sokols wearing ordinary clothes and invited guests were allowed to join a Sokol event in no particular order. The final article of the rules appealed to the members to respect the law and public order, to show moderation, and to conduct themselves properly.

Violations of the rules were considered unacceptable shaming of the club.

Inappropriate conduct of members in uniform was admonished by the leader of the outdoor event on the spot, and in extreme cases such misbehavior was sanctioned with dishonorable expulsion from the club.¹² In the initial period some Sokols occasionally wore ordinary black trousers or performed in ordinary clothes wearing Sokol hats.

Uniformed Sokols made their first public appearance at the funeral of the mayor of Ljubljana and first chairman of the Ljubljana Reading Society, Mihael Ambrož, on 28 April 1864. Wearing the full uniform and carrying the club’s new flag, 40 uniformed Sokols accompanied the funeral procession of this deserving national activist and placed a wreath on his grave.

As reported by Fran Drenik, individual Sokols feared to walk the streets in full uniform because of possible insults, and they therefore put on the čikoš and falcon’s feather only shortly before arriving at the cemetery. On his way to the gathering point, Drenik passed by the commander of the military hospital, Captain Schramek, who was standing on the porch of the Casino Club’s café. The captain was so startled by Drenik’s red shirt, čikoš, and surka that he cried out loud, thinking he saw a jumping jack. After the funeral, Dr Keesbacher, a highly regarded member of the Turnverein, approached the demonstrator of the Sokols, Pavel Draksler, and, obviously impressed by the uniformed Sokol company, proposed that the two gymnastics clubs of Ljubljana merge.

Draksler resolutely rejected the offer and confidently responded that the Turnverein could not join the Southern Sokol Club, but that its members were free do so individually.¹³

In early July 1864, Novice published the first newspaper description of the uniform of the Southern Sokols. A social event at the Kranj Reading Club held on 29 June 1864 was attended by 80 Sokols in

‘formal uniforms’. The Sokol uniform was described by Novice as Trousers and jacket made of Russian cloth, red shirt, round grey hat with a falcon’s feather; in these elegant uniforms the Sokols are a pleasure to the eye. Their red shirts stood out because they wore their jackets over their left shoulders.¹⁴ The Sokol uniform was also the theme of the host’s speech at the joint lunch at the Pri Stari Pošti inn, but the speaker erred in his

Science of Gymnastics Journal 65 Science of Gymnastics Journal description and Costa senior had to correct

him. The ceremonial program was followed by a ball where one could see Carniolan beauties whirl around with Sokols in their fine uniforms.¹⁵ The Sokol uniform, which made its first and successful appearance on the dance floor, obviously found much favor with the female public.

In 1864, uniformed Sokols attended a reading society event in Ilirska Bistrica, the opening of the Planina Reading Society, and an evening torchlight procession in honor of the newly elected mayor of Ljubljana, Etbin Henrik Costa. Novice reported that a ceremonial social event at the Celovec (Klagenfurt) Reading Club on 30 October 1864 was attended by a member of the Southern Sokol Club whose uniform attracted considerable attention: They were all watching him in his fine uniform and many voices were heard calling for more

‘Sokols’ to be seen in Celovec.”¹⁶ Excursions, visits to national societies and their events, the election of their president, Costa, as mayor of Ljubljana, and promotional accounts in the press contributed to ideas about founding Sokol clubs or its chapters in other Slovenian places (Kranj, Vipava, Planina, and Ilirska Bistrica). Among the conditions the Southern Sokol Club set for the chapters were payment of a membership fee, equipped club premises, and orderly finances. The parent club made no special mention of the issue of uniforms in the chapters, but it was self-evident that they should be standard uniforms.¹⁷

At the general meeting of 29 December 1864, the gathered Sokols once more addressed the issue of the uniform in item 6 of the agenda. After a heated debate, the meeting adopted a decision by majority vote that the čikoš as worn by the Czech Sokols was to replace the semi-round hat, whereas the rest of the uniform was to remain unchanged. The board of the club decided on 3 February 1865 that the club

would order 100 new čikoš hats from the Prague Sokol Club and 150 Sokol monograms. The hats and monograms arrived in Ljubljana in early March 1865.¹⁸

A group of 72 Sokol gymnasts in uniform and carrying the Sokol flag posed for the first photograph of Sokols for the Ljubljana photographer Ernest Pogorelec on Sunday, 17 September 1865. According to the club’s secretary, Fran Ravnikar, the photographer did a fine job. The remaining 35 Sokols separately visited the photographer on 8 October 1865 to have him make a fine souvenir of unforgettable times.¹⁹ Photographs, especially of groups, had become affordable because of advances in photography. The Southern Sokol Club made use of photography for souvenirs and to represent themselves, and today these photographs are first-rate documents of the period and primary sources for research.

Group portraits in uniform and with the club’s flag were occasional gifts from the Southern Sokol Club as tokens of gratitude to deserving clubs and individuals. The photographs clearly show the uniforms, the flag, and the faces of the members of the Southern Sokol Club. Most of them wore beards, which a decade earlier symbolized sympathy for the ideas of liberalism and the March Revolution and attested to a person’s support for democracy. For this very reason, as early as 1852 Austria’s conservative authorities had prohibited civil servants from wearing facial hair below the mouth, and according to Janez Trdina, several types of hats, long hair, and

‘unusual’ clothes were equally forbidden.²⁰ On 29 December 1866, the general meeting of the Southern Sokol Club unanimously adopted a proposal from

‘demonstrator’ Pavel Draksler to have winter coats made for the winter activities.²¹ The season of the club’s public activities lasted from early May to late October, and the club’s leadership wanted to extend them to the inactive winter season. The winter

Science of Gymnastics Journal 66 Science of Gymnastics Journal activities included not only an annual

commemoration visit to the graves of deceased members and sponsors on 1 November, but also private and public events such as costume parties, New Year’s parties, a Valentin Vodnik memorial evening, and Sokol winter evenings. The club was aware of its important role in Slovenian social life, and especially in the winter it gladly accepted invitations to support the activities of national (i.e., Slovenian) clubs in various towns and places around Slovenia by attending them in uniform. Until 1882 there are no reports in the archive records on outdoor events in winter coats, and one may therefore assume that Draksler’s proposal was not implemented. When the flag of the Trieste Slavic Workers’ Club was blessed on 24 September 1882, the attending Ljubljana Sokols were so chilled by the autumn burja winds that the idea of purchasing winter uniforms was revived. The board from then on invited its members to serenades and parties in winter, where they gathered in winter outfit, wearing the Sokol hat and feather.²² They also attended funerals in the winter; for example, that of Štefan Kočevar on February 1883, in full Sokol uniform with hat, feather, and winter coat.²³

A street brawl between a group of Sokols and German gymnasts after the funeral of Henrik Germek, a member of the Southern Sokol Club, on the night of 24 July 1867 caused the provincial deputy to ban the Southern Sokols. On 20 February 1868, around 70 former Sokols gathered in the club’s gymnasium with the intention of founding a new gymnastics club. After a heated debate, the Sokols confirmed the existing Sokol uniform with the exception of the surka, to which a stripe was added.²⁴ The founding meeting of the Ljubljana Sokol Gymnastics Club was held at the Reading Club on 28 April 1868, and once more addressed the issue of the Sokol

uniform, which had remained unresolved since October 1863. The meeting unanimously decided that the uniform was to remain unchanged. Regarding the surka, they decided in favor of the ‘Prague uniform’ with the same back stripe as worn by the Czech Sokols. The new rules did not define the uniform in detail. The only reference to the uniform was in the provision that the members had the right to wear the Sokol uniform, but only on the club’s excursions and at its festivals.²⁵ At the board’s first meeting on 9 March 1868, the unsolved issue of the headwear was again tackled. Because the board could not reach an agreement, the decision was postponed to a later occasion. To resolve this unpleasant issue as soon as possible, Draksler, who was a member of the board, committed himself to having a model čikoš made and presenting it to the board at one of the next meetings. Further discussions and quarrels were resolutely terminated by an intervention from President Peter Grasselli. On 15 April 1868, the board adopted Grasselli’s proposal to have the same uniform as the Prague Sokol Club with the exception of the surka. The board adopted the proposal only after Grasselli assured it that a surka with a chain stripe would not increase expenses for the Sokols.²⁶

In 1869, initiatives to found Sokol clubs were launched in Kranj, Postojna, Cerknica, Celje, and Trieste. The initiating committees of clubs and chapters turned to the leadership of the Ljubljana Sokol Club for copies of the club rules. They had uniforms and flags made following the model of the parent club. The district and provincial authorities not only did not help them in any way, but through stalling and obstruction tried to make life as unpleasant as possible for the activities of the Sokol clubs. The district administration in Postojna, for instance, rejected the application of the Sokols to attend the high mass on the emperor’s birthday in uniform

Science of Gymnastics Journal 67 Science of Gymnastics Journal before the official foundation of the Sokol

chapter.²⁷

The Slovenians of Trieste encountered even greater difficulties in founding their gymnastics club when they announced that the founding ceremony would be held on 6 May 1869. The imperial deputy’s office of Trieste rejected the application for approval of the club rules of the Southern Sokol Club on 3 June 1869 on the grounds that the Sokol Club and its flag and uniforms were likely to endanger public order and safety in the town. The leadership’s direct complaint to the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Vienna was unsuccessful. The Trieste Sokols wanted to model themselves after the former Ljubljana Sokol Club by choosing the name ‘Southern Sokol Club’. It is all the more unusual then that they did not do so in the case of the uniform, for which they chose a blue shirt instead of a red one, and added a red neck scarf. The archives of the club offer no explanation why the Trieste Sokols did not model their uniform after the Ljubljana or Prague Sokols. I assume that the decision was based on local clothing traditions. They were even less precise in the choice of headwear, allowing gray cloth hats as well as a black čikoš, to which a Sokol feather and monogram were attached.

They also wore trousers made of gray cloth and shoes (rather than boots).

The political rally held in Sežana on 3 June 1870 was attended by numerous Slovenian societies as well as the ‘Littoral Sokol Club’ – that is, the Trieste Southern Sokols, which were never formally founded. Novice reported that the Rojan²⁸ Sokol flag was worn by a Sokol in a blue shirt accompanied by two Sokols in red shirts as guards. The Trieste Sokols obviously occasionally wore their Sokol uniforms at local events to enhance folk events. The rally was attended by a choir from Tolmin, dressed for the occasion in Sokol uniforms and red shirts. The newspaper does not mention which Sokol

club the choirs borrowed the uniforms from. Furthermore, it is also unusual that no one criticized the fact that the Littoral Sokols and the singers wore different uniforms.²⁹

The Upper Carniola Sokol Club, founded in early January 1870, chose a blue shirt for its uniform instead of a red one.

The differences in uniform between the Ljubljana and Kranj Sokols were particularly obvious at their joint excursion to Sveta Katarina in mid May 1871. In his critical report, the new gymnastics instructor of the Ljubljana Sokols, the Czech Jan Z. Veselý, blamed the Upper Carniola Sokols for training only half a year, poor administration and technical leadership, ignorance of gymnastics theory, and lack of Sokol ideas.³⁰ The vice president, Peter Grasselli, was even more detailed in his criticism at the joint party in Medvode on 14 May 1871, when he expressed in his toast the wish for the Kranj Sokols to have the same uniforms as the Ljubljana Sokols as soon as possible. In addition to the blue shirt, the Kranj Sokols also wore wide-brimmed peasant hats, to which they attached redand-blue tassels.³¹ Grasselli publicly appealed to the Upper Carniola Sokols to bring the uniform in line with ‘the other Slavic gymnastics clubs’

and wear a red shirt as the symbol of the liberal principles every gymnast must nurture.³² The Upper Carniola Sokols obstinately persisted with their own variant of Sokol uniform, undermining the unity of the Slovenian Sokol movement from its very beginnings. After several years of obstinacy, their resistance ended when the Upper Carniola Sokol Club ceased operation.

In the meantime, the Ljubljana Sokol Club continued its efforts to standardize the uniform and purchases of uniforms within the club and its chapters. In spring 1870, the board called upon members that intended to have a new uniform made to do so before

Science of Gymnastics Journal 68 Science of Gymnastics Journal the first excursions of the year. The

Ljubljana tailors were to make the new surkas and trousers from better-quality cloth, ordered by the club from the Prague Sokols, instead of ordinary cloth. The fabric was available at Anton Jentl’s shop on Špital Street and, according to the board, at a favorable price. At the fourth meeting of the board on 25 April 1870, Peter Grasselli addressed the question how to support young Sokols so that they could afford the Sokol uniform. The club had struggled with the high prices of cloth and tailoring services without any success from its foundation. Young Sokols, who were mainly from the ranks of shop assistants and journeymen in the crafts, found it difficult to raise the money required for having a uniform made, and the meager means of the club’s treasury could not help them. At the fifth meeting of the board on 6 July 1870, the members once more discussed the headwear and adopted an unusual, but unanimous decision. During summer excursions, the Sokols were to wear straw hats to better protect them from the scorching sun. Around 50 uniformed Sokols were to attend the rally in Vipava on 29 July 1870 wearing straw hats. However, because of the poor weather they had no chance to see how effective the new headwear was. The rally was postponed to 14 August 1870 and was attended by around 120 Sokols in uniform, from the parent club and the Planina, Postojna, and Vipava chapters. The available sources fail to mention whether straw hats were also worn by the members of the Sokol chapters.³³

Dissatisfied Sokols again raised the issue of the uniform at the general meeting in December 1870, but the meeting voted against their proposals. The board once more rejected proposals by frustrated members to change the uniform at its meeting of 19 March 1871. Among the reasons for its decision, the board drew attention to the introduction of ‘real’

democracy to the life of the club, an

argument that was strongly supported by the club’s gymnastics instructor Jan Z.

Veselý. By insisting on a standard Sokol uniform, the board also fought phenomena of stratification and ‘aristocratic’ behavior in the club. At the general meeting of 29 December 1872, Fran Drenik again proposed changing the uniform. His contention that the uniform was the reason for poor participation in the club’s excursions was not supported by the majority. Kadilnik raised the question of the hat for practical reasons and proposed changing it. After a heated debate, the general meeting adopted a Solomon-like decision: the proposals for changes to the uniform were to be dealt with by the newly elected board. The general meeting also assigned the new board the task of immediately contacting the leaderships of the chapters and reaching an agreement ‘to modify their uniforms so that all Slovenian Sokol clubs will wear the same uniform.’³⁴

The economic crisis and increased political and police pressures exerted by the governments in Vienna from 1872 to 1882 placed heavy restrictions on the operation of the Ljubljana Sokol Club and its chapters. Membership in a Sokol club or publicly wearing a red shirt was reason enough to be dismissed from the civil service. Consequently, the activities of the club were reduced as well as its presence among the public. Within a few years the membership dropped by half and chapters stopped operating one by one. Novice reported in May 1872 on the conditions in the Planina Sokol chapter, where the club’s activities were coming to a sad end. It blamed these conditions on internal divisions and the haughtiness of its leaders, who loved to show off in public wearing the Sokol uniform but completely neglected gymnastics.³⁵

In spring 1873, the municipal authorities tightened the conditions for the public operation of the Ljubljana Sokol Club with a provision that made it nearly

Science of Gymnastics Journal 69 Science of Gymnastics Journal impossible to organize excursions.

Uniformed Sokols were forbidden to gather in large groups in the town before excursions, and after the excursion they had to disperse when returning to town. This led to a joke in Ljubljana and its environs that was quite telling of the double standards the authorities applied to the two gymnastics clubs in Ljubljana: the difference between the Turner and the Sokols was that the former did not dare visit the countryside, and the latter were not allowed to visit it.³⁶ After the Slovenians lost the majority in the provincial diet in 1877, pressures on the

Ljubljana Sokols mounted to the degree that the Sokols were forced to participate in the club’s excursions in ordinary clothes. When the Ljubljana Sokols organized an excursion in ordinary clothes to Zalog on 15 June 1879, the local people welcomed them enthusiastically and demonstrated their sympathy for the national activists, even when they are dressed like gentlemen.³⁷ Because of constant harassment by the authorities, the board even considered the option that the Sokols would no longer wear red shirts. On 21 September 1879, the general meeting chaired by the newly elected president Franjo Ravnikar adopted the decision to no longer wear red shirts. A frustrated minority could not reconcile itself with the decision and appealed for the matter to be reconsidered. At the extraordinary general meeting of 27 December 1879, the Sokols unanimously agreed to continue to wear red shirts.³⁸ However, the meeting’s decision in favor of the red shirt lost much of its importance because of the internal instruction that the decision was not to be made public.

When the Croatian Sokols visited Ljubljana on 28 June 1880, the Ljubljana Sokols were once more motivated to address the issue of the Sokol uniform. At the fourth meeting of the board on 14 March 1881, President Fran Ravnikar proposed that they stop wearing the old hats

(the čikoš). The board unanimously adopted Ravnikar’s proposal for the type of hat as worn by the Zagreb Sokols, and they were ordered from the local hatter Krejči. The new hat with a feather and cockade cost 2 guldens, 45 kreuzers per piece. Thanks to mediation by the Sokol member Tratnik, the trouser belts were supplied by the belt- maker Schreiner of Ljubljana. However, this seemingly innocuous decision annoyed one of the members, T. A. Zupančič. In a letter to President Ravnikar dated 21 March 1881, he criticized the board for ordering the hats from someone that had not even been a member until recently, and of whom it was not known whether he really was a Slovenian patriot. Zupančič’s ‘patriotic feelings’ were offended by the board’s failure to assign the order to an older, steadfast merchant, and choosing a newcomer from abroad instead. At its meeting of 19 January 1882, the board adopted another Solomon-like decision: the caps were now ordered from the craftsmen Tille and Zevnikar.³⁹

The Ljubljana Sokols wore their old hats for the last time on Thursday, 5 May 1881, when they gathered at the Reading Club in full Sokol uniform with čikoš and feather at 6 pm and walked to the house of the late Josip Jurčič, a long-time member of the club. The board had decided that it would not be appropriate to wear the new hats for the first time at a funeral, and therefore called upon the members to attend the funeral in the old uniform.⁴⁰ The Ljubljana Sokols first wore their new hats on Monday, 27 June 1881, at the Ljubljana railway station, where they met a train with 800 Slavic pilgrims traveling to Rome for the declaration of the feast-day of the Slavic apostles Sts Cyril and Methodius.⁴¹

In 1882, the isolated Ljubljana Sokol Club was joined by clubs from Trieste and Mozirje, and by the end of the decade further Sokol clubs were founded in Novo Mesto, Gorizia, and Prvačina. The

Science of Gymnastics Journal 70 Science of Gymnastics Journal Ljubljana Sokol Club helped the new clubs

prepare rules and the purchase of uniforms.

At its founding meeting in Trieste on 8 May 1882, the Trieste Sokol Club confirmed its uniform, which was identical to that of the Ljubljana Sokols: trousers and surka made of ‘grey fabric’ or Russian cloth, and a red shirt worn underneath. The headwear consisted of a grey, soft, wide-brimmed felt hat with a falcon’s feather and monogram on a white, blue, and red silk ribbon.

Because of the club’s meager means, they had great difficulties in purchasing the material for the uniforms, and until fall 1885 they regularly applied for financial support to the Ljubljana Sokols, and occasionally borrowed uniforms from the club.⁴²

In spring 1882, the leadership of the Savinja Sokol Club sent the teacher Levstik to Ljubljana to gather detailed information because they wanted to purchase the same uniforms as the Ljubljana Sokols. Within one year, the Savinja Sokols had their own uniforms made. They wore them at several local events and presented themselves for the first time in Ljubljana on 3 July 1883.

The Upper Carniola and Lower Carniola Sokol clubs, founded in 1887, also chose to have the same uniforms as the Ljubljana Sokols. Supported by the Ljubljana Sokol Club, new clubs were founded in Ajdovščina and Prvačina by the end of 1890, and they both opted for the standard uniform. Both clubs had great difficulties because the Trieste authorities prohibited them from wearing the Sokol uniforms in public. The Gorizia club therefore soon stopped its operation, while the Sokols of Prvačina survived thanks to their well- equipped gymnasium.⁴³

For the celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the foundation of the Prague Sokol Club, the Czech Sokols organized a Pan-Sokol rally on 18 June 1882, the first big international event of the Sokol movement. The festival was attended by a fivemember delegation from the Ljubljana

Sokol Club in uniform and with the club’s flag, who traveled to Prague at their own expense. In its invitation, the organizer reminded the Slovenian Sokols not to travel to Prague in excursion clothes, high boots, or wide trousers, and for the gymnastics performance they were to wear white vests with red trim and cloth trousers. The spirit of the Prague Sokols stimulated the Slovenian Sokols to engage in renovating their club and to conform to the Czech Sokol clubs. The attitude toward the uniform was the clearest indicator of the club’s spirit. In view of what was practiced by some Ljubljana Sokols, who did not wear the Sokol symbol on their hats, their attitude was not really up to standard. This improper habit of some members was discussed at the general meeting of 4 January 1884, which again tackled the issue of the hats and adopted the unanimous stance that the members should wear the Sokol symbol on their hats.⁴⁴

The participation of fifteen Slovenian Sokols at the Second Pan-Sokol Rally in Prague in June 1891 turned into a landmark event for the Slovenian Sokol movement because of its long-term consequences. The president of the Celje Sokol Club, Josip Vrečko, wrote a letter to the board of the Ljubljana Sokols on 11 February 1892, drawing their attention to the conditions in the cradle of the Sokol movement. He proposed joint, immediate, and resolute action to standardize the uniform, Sokol symbols and awards, gymnastics instructions, and greetings in the Slovenian Sokol clubs; in short, to eliminate all deviations in the Slovenian Sokol clubs.

Vrečko proposed an organizational and general standardization of the Slovenian Sokol clubs and called upon the leadership of the Ljubljana Sokols to head this very demanding project. The board of the Ljubljana Sokol Club welcomed the initiative of the Celje Sokols on 26 March 1892 and proposed that the gymnastics teacher Franjo Mulaček and the secretary of the Celje Sokols, Dragotin Treo, prepare a

Science of Gymnastics Journal 71 Science of Gymnastics Journal reform plan drawing on the Czech model.

For the uniform, the two proposed a cap with a Slovenian rosette and short falcon’s feathers, a surka with laces, a red shirt made of ‘rouge’ cloth, and red buttons on the collar and cuffs. The presidents and their deputies were to wear a tricolor embroidery above the elbow around the left sleeve, the leaders a wide white sash, and the demonstrators a blue sash, both falling almost to the knees. The leadership of the Ljubljana Sokols agreed with the proposal and decided to replace the hats with Czech caps of the finest quality with a tricolor cockade, the Sokol monogram, and a short feather, and the trousers with trousers with spats of the same colors. Another proposal that was adopted provided for standardization of the fabric for the uniforms and shirts, a standard surka, and good-quality, standard laces. A further issue addressed were the winter coats, and it was decided that the existing ones could be used until further notice. These changes to the Sokol uniform came into force on 1 May 1892. A three-member commission was to supervise the implementation of the decisions and ensure that the Sokols wore the prescribed uniform. The Ljubljana Sokols sent the decisions of its board to all other Slovenian Sokol clubs and called upon their support in these efforts as soon as possible.⁴⁵

The costs of standardizing the Sokol uniform, which was itself quite expensive, met with opposition in all the clubs. The leadership of the Celje Sokols attempted to tacitly implement the standardization but failed because the paper Slovenski Narod prematurely published the proposed standard uniform. In mid May 1892, a genuine revolt broke out at the Celje Sokol Club. The final straw was the proposal on standard spats, and frustrated members demanded an extraordinary general meeting. The secretary of the Ljubljana Sokols, Fran Tekavčič, advised the leadership of the Celje Sokol Club to temporarily postpone the reform of the

uniform to cool down the heated discussions. The leaders of the other Sokol clubs were equally challenged to solve the issue of the standard uniform as soon as possible because the season of excursions and public gymnastics performances started in May.⁴⁶

On its thirtieth anniversary, the Ljubljana Sokol Club organized a meeting of all Slovenian Sokol clubs, at which it wanted to lay the foundations for standardizing the Sokol clubs. In a letter to the organizing committee, dated 19 April 1893, Josip Vrečko proposed the themes for the meeting and especially pointed out the issue of a standard Sokol uniform. He continued by proposing standardization of the gymnastics terminology, the foundation of a union of Sokol Clubs and the elaboration of standard instructions for founding new clubs. At the meeting of the delegates of the Slovenian Sokol clubs, held at the Ljubljana Town Hall on 8 July 1893, the president of the Lower Carniola Sokol Club, Franjo Rosin, proposed the introduction of a standard uniform and the organization of a thereby lower purchase cost of fabric for the uniforms, and the future union was to ensure standard uniforms and fabrics. A special committee consisting of members of the Ljubljana Sokols was made responsible for implementing the decisions adopted. Franjo Mulaček described the development of the Sokol uniform in Slovenia, with special emphasis on the headwear, in an extensive speech.⁴⁷ He then continued to denounce both clubs as well as individuals whose aim was to dress up in clothes that fit the human body tighter than working clothes and please the female sex, and resolutely condemned the common conviction that membership in a Sokol club gave people the

Science of Gymnastics Journal 72 Science of Gymnastics Journal right to show themselves off as wild and

uncouth while wearing the Sokol uniform.⁴⁸ The election of Viktor Murnik⁴⁹ (1874- 1964) as secretary on 5 January 1896 started a reform period in the Ljubljana Sokol Club that was marked by the introduction of the Tyrš gymnastics system, standardization of Slovenian gymnastics terminology and the Sokol uniform, the organization of courses and lectures, and the translation of basic specialist literature.

Following the Czech example, Murnik founded a board of instructors that soon became the core of the club’s activities. For public gymnastics performances he selected only well-prepared gymnasts because this was the only way to promote Sokol gymnastics. He sent out well-trained instructors of gymnastics to assist other Sokol clubs, and invited gymnasts from other clubs to the gymnasium of the Ljubljana Sokol Club for additional training. The reform period concluded with the Second Slovenian Pan-Sokol Rally in Ljubljana in June 1904. The foundation of the Slovenian Sokol Union (SSU) on 1 October 1905 and the establishment of the organizational structure into districts (Sln.

župa) in 1909 and 1910 successfully ended the structural reorganization, which then led to an exceptional expansion of the Slovenian Sokol movement.

Towards the end of the century, Sokol clubs in small towns and market towns still faced difficulties in purchasing Sokol uniforms. The secretary of the Celje Sokol Club, Franjo Jošt, complained at the general meeting in 1898 that the club was joined by gentlemen that were interested merely in

festivals, club excursions, and celebrations where they have the chance to show off their uniform but, once they owe several installments on their uniform, they write that they are leaving the club (Orožen 1940). In addition to internal difficulties, the Celje Sokol Club had constant problems with the municipal authorities, which did not allow it to organize public parades in club uniform. The Celje municipal authorities consistently rejected the applications of the Sokol Club with the excuse that the appearance of Sokols in uniform would only worsen the already heated ethnic tensions in the town, adding that uniformed Sokols behaved provocatively. It took until the funeral of Hinko Šuklje (Hinko Šuklje was born in Brestanica on 10 July 1866. After studying medicine in Graz, he found a position in Ljubljana. Invited by national activists of Celje, he moved to the town in 1893 and specialized in gynecology. Šuklje was a member of the Celje Sokols and a member of its board. He founded and directed the Sokol tamburice-playing club. He died in Zadar, where he was being treated for tuberculosis, on 29 March 1903. He was buried in Žalec. (Slovenski biografski leksikon, 3, Ljubljana 1960–1971, 718–

719)) for the Celje Sokols to first march in uniform and carry the club flag in the streets of Celje. The municipal authorities of Celje initially banned the funeral procession of the Sokols, but then gave in to public pressure, including from the Germans, and for the first and last time (in the Austro-Hungarian monarchy) allowed the Sokols to march in the town’s streets.

As reported by the club’s secretary, Ljudevit Stiker, the Germans of Celje⁵⁰ were particularly annoyed by the red shirts and he ironically added that they will have to get used to them, like it or not.⁵³

An anonymous group of members of the Ljubljana Sokol Club wrote a letter to the board in late 1903, pointing out that

Science of Gymnastics Journal 73 Science of Gymnastics Journal many young gymnasts could not afford the

Sokol uniform. They proposed introducing what was practiced by the Ljubljana Turnverein, which solved the purchase of club uniforms for poor new members with favorable loans. They also sharply condemned the motto All you need are a red shirt and cap, and you’re a Sokol!

which at the time circulated among the members, as well as among the public. The group demanded that an extraordinary meeting be called immediately to establish the healthy foundations for the club. In his answer to the anonymous letter, Murnik expressed his regret that many young Sokols could not perform in public because they had no Sokol uniform. He also regretted that the poor financial situation of the club made it impossible to support young members with favorable internal loans to buy a Sokol uniform.⁵¹

The Second Slovenian Pan-Sokol Rally was held in Ljubljana on 16–18 July 1904, and together with a ceremonial meeting and public performance, the rally concluded the reform of the Slovenian Sokol movement.

Following a proposal by the Ljubljana Sokol Club, the other Slovenian Sokol clubs started to standardize the Sokol uniform in 1903, not only in cut but also in fabric. The Sokols replaced the winter coats with capes and in addition to laced shoes, boots were also allowed for the sake of the Mura Sokol Club from Ljutomer. The Mura Sokol Club, founded in 1903, had chosen the Czech ceremonial uniform including boots at the initiative of the immigrant Czech physician Karel Chloupek; because changing the uniform would be too heavy a financial burden for the club and it members, they remained with their first choice.⁵²

At the invitation of the board of instructors of the Ljubljana Sokol Club, the leaders of the Slovenian Sokol clubs gathered in Ljubljana in March 1904. They decided that the freestyle exercises at performances were to be performed in gymnastics uniforms, not Sokol uniforms,

and that only members that regularly participated in the training sessions would be allowed to participate in the ceremonial procession. The organizers required all Slovenian participants to wear standard uniforms, and all the gymnasts to be dressed in standard gymnastics uniforms.

They called upon the uniformed Sokols to properly conduct themselves, not to add any trivial pendants to their uniforms, and to wear a Sokol cap with a feather, cockade, and monogram. The Sokol gymnasts wore a white singlet with narrow red trim, and a ribbon with the name of their club attached to the center of the chest. They were to wear dark blue cotton jersey trousers with a 3-cm-wide sewn-on blue-and-white belt, and underneath the trousers the organizers recommended blue ‘swimming trunks.’ The footwear consisted of black heelless shoes or black gym shoes with stockings the same color as the trousers. The organizers further recommended that the participants that intended to participate in the competitions and public gymnastics performances bring two or three gymnastics shirts. The leader of the public gymnastics performance was to wear a short white sash around his waist, and the leaders of the two gathering places a short blue sash.⁵³ The Pan-Sokol Rally was a good opportunity for the leaders of the Sokol clubs to verify how the decisions on the standard Sokol uniform were implemented. Murnik was satisfied with the degree of standardization of the Sokol uniform as well as with the organization of the Sokol rally.

The foundation of the Slovenian Sokol Union (SSU) on 1 October 1905, which included twelve clubs with over 2,000 members, laid the foundations for a uniform organizational structure of the Slovenian Sokols. The union implemented its program by introducing a standard training program and methods, organizing meetings, public and competition performances, celebrations and excursions, and lectures, publishing books, and other activities. Before the union was founded, the Ljubljana Sokol Club had

Science of Gymnastics Journal 74 Science of Gymnastics Journal supervised the standard uniform of the

Slovenian Sokol clubs, and was then replaced by the board of instructors of the SSU, which through the monthly journal Slovenski Sokol laid down the standards and instructions for the clubs. The union’s board approved the existing Sokol uniform on 8 December 1905, including the trousers, which remained long, but without spats or boots. The leadership of the union from then on supplied the fabric for the Sokol uniforms and capes and made sure that the fabric was always of the same quality and color.⁵⁴

The board of the SSU adopted house rules and excursion rules on 8 December 1905, provisions concerning public performances, and a report on the Sokol uniform, symbols, and gymnastics uniform.

The union’s rules came into force for all the member clubs of the union from the day they were published in Slovenski Sokol;

they included house rules and excursion rules, an example of club rules, and provisions on the Sokol uniform and symbols. Article 3 of the house rules obliged the boards of the clubs to instruct their members on the club rules, the house, public, and excursion rules, and the rules and decisions of the union. Club members were entitled to a space in the dressing room to change clothes and keep their gymnastics uniforms. The gymnasts were responsible for maintaining and cleaning their gymnastics uniforms. Barefoot gymnasts and gymnasts wearing ordinary shoes were not admitted into the gymnasium. Members were allowed to exercise stripped to the waist only in the gymnasium, not outdoors. When they practiced fencing they had to be adequately protected, replace damaged equipment, and repair damage. After the training sessions, the gymnasts had to keep their uniforms in the prescribed places in the dressing room.

The members were also responsible for personal hygiene and the cleanliness of the common spaces.⁵⁵

While the house rules laid down the conditions for activities in the club’s premises and gymnasium, the public rules dealt with the conduct of Sokol gymnasts at public performances, where the Sokol clubs appeared in a special, standard uniform and under the club’s flag. The instructions laid down the following symbols to be used with the Sokol uniform: a falcon’s feather with cockade and monogram, a ribbon with the name of the club’s headquarters on the left side of the chest, and the Sokol monogram on the belt. According to the rules of the union, every member was individually responsible for wearing the standard Sokol uniform and gymnastics uniform at public performances. The members were allowed to wear the Sokol uniform and symbols in public only with the permission of the club’s board. Violation of this rule was sanctioned with expulsion from the club.

Changing into the Sokol uniform in advance before public performances was prohibited, and after the performance the Sokols were obliged to go home immediately and change into ordinary clothes.⁵⁶

The excursion rules stipulated that only members wearing the mandatory full uniform were allowed to take part in club excursions, delegations, and public events.

Uniformed members of other Sokol clubs were allowed to participate in club excursions if they had the permission of their club’s leader and if the guide accepted them. Excursionists that were included in the marching ranks were forbidden to carry walking sticks or umbrellas. Anyone that left the ranks during an excursion was obliged to first remove the Sokol symbols.

The instructions also defined the salutes and conduct of the Sokols at funerals of deserving members, which the Sokol clubs occasionally attended in ordinary clothes.

When it fully participated, the club marched with its flag wrapped in black cloth ahead of the coffin, while club delegations marched behind the coffin. During the ceremony in church and the funeral

Science of Gymnastics Journal 75 Science of Gymnastics Journal procession, the Sokols took off their caps

on command. The board of the SSU adopted further instructions on the symbols to be worn by Sokol officials. These abolished the obligation of the presidents and vice-presidents to wear tricolor bands on the sleeves, as well as the sashes of the leaders and deputy leaders. The new provisions stipulated that the presidents, vice-presidents, or their deputies should wear a tricolor across the right shoulder of the surka, and the leaders and instructors a light blue badge. In addition to the badge, the leaders wore a small horn, and the flag bearers a red badge on the right shoulder.

The president of the union or his deputy wore a tricolor sash from right shoulder to left hip at the performances of the union, and on other occasions a light blue sash.⁵⁷

The Slovenian Sokol Union published an example of club rules in Slovenski Sokol.

In the section dealing with the rights and obligations of the members, Article 8 stipulated the right to wear the Sokol uniform in accordance with the provisions of the board. Article 31 stated the right of the members to wear the special Sokol uniform and symbols at public performances with the permission of the board.⁵⁸ A union supervisor oversaw the implementation of the rules and decisions of the boards. Until the presidency of SSU adopted its rules of procedure, which defined the authorities of the union supervisors, the clubs were supervised only in the technical sense of instruction and advice. The union’s board of instructors adopted the rules of procedure for the union’s supervisors on 3 June 1906. The rules of procedure obliged the union supervisors to inspect the conditions in the clubs twice a year, or at least once and then before a major public performance.

Normally, the clubs were advised in advance of the inspection by the union supervisor. The supervisor wrote a report on the inspection and sent it to the union’s board of instructors, which then sent a copy

to the board of the club in question. The leader of the inspected club had the right to appeal to the union’s board of instructors if he considered the report biased. This inspection system was primarily aimed at ensuring a higher degree ‘of uniformity and training in the clubs.’⁵⁹

The SSU’s instructions to the Slovenian participants at the First Croatian PanSokol Rally, held in Zagreb on 2–3 September 1906, stipulated in detail the use of the standard Sokol and gymnastics uniforms. The club leaders were responsible for the implementation of the instructions, including the standard Sokol and gymnastics uniforms. The first section of the instructions dealt with transporting and storing the Sokol and gymnastics uniforms.

The organizers reminded the members in uniform to attach a slip of paper with their name and the name of their club to the bottom of their caps, and to mark all individual parts of their uniforms to keep them from getting mixed up. The participants were called upon to inspect and clean their Sokol and gymnastics uniforms before departure. The instructions further described in detail the mandatory Sokol uniform. The Slovenian Sokols wore caps with a five-cm black trim. A tricolor cockade with the Sokol monogram and feather was affixed to the cap above the left eye. The falcon’s feather with a maximum length of sixteen cm was attached below the cockade and at an angel of thirty-six degrees. The trousers and surka were made of grey cotton cloth. The front of the surka had thirteen sewn-on buttons with buttonholes, and the sleeves four buttons with buttonholes. A narrow seven-cm stripe with a tricolor top edge was sewn on to the left side of the surka and featured the name of the club’s seat. The trousers had hooks for the black lacquered belt with the round Sokol monogram made of white metal. The instructions further specified that the monogram had to be kept in the proper position. The red cloth shirt with red bone buttons had an ordinary cut without

Science of Gymnastics Journal 76 Science of Gymnastics Journal unnecessary folds or embroidered

ornaments. Silk shirts were strictly forbidden. The Sokols wore ordinary black shoes and a knee-length coat. Lacquered or yellow shoes were forbidden. The president of the union wore a tricolor sash, and its leader a light blue sash and a small horn.

The new instructions stipulated that, instead of the previous white sashes worn around the waist, the club presidents and vice- presidents had to wear a tricolor badge on the right shoulder, and the leaders and instructors a light blue badge. The flag bearers wore a red badge on the right shoulder and white gloves with wide cuffs.

Members were forbidden to wear any other symbols.⁶⁰

In early 1907 the presidency of the union entrusted the supply of Sokol fabric to the Češnik & Milavec company in Ljubljana and informed all Slovenian Sokol clubs and individuals to order fabric for their uniforms from this company in order to gradually achieve identical colors in the uniforms of individual clubs. The board of the union authorized the ‘brothers’

(members) Kostevc and Miklavec on 21 July 1907 to supply the Sokol clubs with cloth in accordance with the union’s instructions.⁶¹

Over 300 Slovenian Sokols in uniform participated in the Fifth Pan-Sokol Rally in Prague from 28 June to 1 July 1907. The union published instructions on the mandatory Sokol and gymnastics uniforms in Slovenski Sokol. These instructions differed only in details from the instructions for the First Croatian Pan-Sokol Rally in Zagreb in 1906. The Sokol cap now had a six-cm-wide black trim instead of five cm.

Concerning the shirts, the instructions drew particular attention to the mandatory light- red shade. The instructions for the gymnastics uniform only had a note on the trousers: the gymnasts were to fix them under their shoes with an elastic band. The trousers were drawn over the shoes and fixed under them with these bands. The

instructions advised the participants in the rally not to wear rings, watch chains, bracelets, or any other jewelry. In spite of the provision that the participants were to travel to Prague in ordinary clothes, some of them ignored this. The union’s board of instructors considered this a violation of discipline and again warned the members to conduct themselves in exemplary fashion in public.⁶²

In 1910, the Celje Sokol Club celebrated the twentieth anniversary of its foundation and invited the other Sokol clubs to the opening of the club’s gymnasium in Gabrje. The SSU published a detailed program of the rally and stipulated the same Sokol and gymnastics uniforms as for the Prague rally in 1908. Because of the new organization into districts, new symbols were added for their presidents and vicepresidents: like the club presidents and vice-presidents, they were to wear tricolor badges on the right shoulder. The union drew special attention to the cleanliness of the Sokol and gymnastics uniforms. It advised the participants in the rally to take a towel, soap, toothbrush, and comb with them for personal hygiene. The municipal authorities of Celje tried to prevent the ceremony with a decree, forbidding public wearing of national symbols and Sokol uniforms, as well as gatherings of more than five persons in the town’s streets during the rally. Due to this decree, the Sokols reduced the ceremony from the planned two days to one day, and the event was held in the environs of the town, where the Sokols were allowed to perform in uniform.⁶³

Science of Gymnastics Journal 77 Science of Gymnastics Journal Figure 1. Demonstrators of the Južni Sokol: Koblar, Vidic, Mandič, Coloreto and Draksler, 1864.

Figure 2. Ljubljanski Sokol members, 1867.

Science of Gymnastics Journal 78 Science of Gymnastics Journal Figure 3. Members of Ljubljana Sokol: Paternoster, Steinmety, Fr. Drenik, Nolli in Varaždin 1874.

Figure 4. Members of Ljubljana Sokol: Žitnik, Legat, Bernard, Nolli in Geba in Prague in 1881.

Science of Gymnastics Journal 79 Science of Gymnastics Journal Figure 5. Ljubljana Sokol President Ivan Hribar in 1894.

Figure 6. The first board of instructors of Ljubljana Sokol: Smrtnik, Petrik, Murnik, Škof in Vernik in 1896.

Science of Gymnastics Journal 80 Science of Gymnastics Journal Figure 7. Slovenia Sokol delegation in Prague in 1901.

Figure 8. Slovene Sokol gymnasts in Luxemburg in 1909 (Fuchs, Thaler, Pristov, Murnik Perdan, Rabič, Vidmar).

Figure 9. Portrait of Graz Sokol Club in 1914.

Science of Gymnastics Journal 81 Science of Gymnastics Journal Figure 10. Sokol cap »čikoš«.

Figure 11. Uniform of a memebr of the Ljubljana Sokol »surka«.

In January 1911, the SSU recommended that clubs and individuals order belts with the Sokol monogram from the Anton Škof Company in Ljubljana.

According to the union, these monograms were not only cheaper but also more attractive than the previous ones. The price of a belt with monogram was 2 crowns, 30 hellers. The union confirmed the Jesih &

Windischer company as the supplier of

cloth for the Sokol uniforms and recommended it to the Slovenian Sokols.

Due to numerous incidents and complaints from the (Catholic) Orel Gymnastics Clubs, the union forbade the Sokols wearing the Sokol uniform at public masked balls and dances with an exclusively entertainment program. The presidency of a district had the right to allow exceptions to this rule in view of the local conditions. The SSU also